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Percentile drop 10 mo old

At my son's recent appointment his doctor who is "supportive" of breastfeeding noticed that he has dropped from just over the 25th percentile in weight at 7 mos to just over the 10 percentile at 10 mos (he weighs 18 pounds 3 ounces). She was concerned by this and mentioned the "F" word...supplementing with formula. My son had been nursing about 5 times per day in addition to solids twice a day (meat, veggies, fruits, yogurt), a small amount of water and a small snack (rice cookie) per day.
I have since tried to increase his breastfeedings to 5-6 times per day and on the doctors suggestion, tried to increase his solids with 3 meals plus a snack.
My son will be weighed again at his one year appointment and I am worried what will happen if he continues to drop in percentile on the weight chart. Even though I did make it clear that I am not comfortable with FF the doc did mention that she must "intervene" if a baby drops at least two lines on the growth chart.
I should mention that my son has recently become very active. He crawls alot, babbles and says a few words. He also has two older sisters that distract him (sometimes at feeding time). Also, although he does communicate his needs he is not by any means a demanding baby.
I guess I am just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and what might work to help DS put on a bit more weight

Re: Percentile drop 10 mo old

We all have. And how DARE your doctor say that to you! Breastfed babies ususally slide dramatically in the Chart from about 6months on. Because they get moving! My son went from gaining 14oz a week the first 4.5 months to only gaining about 3.5oz a week. He weighed 17.5lbs at 4.5 months. And at months he only weighed aBOUT 20. He slide 25 percentage points in that time. I don't think it sounds like ANYTHING is wrong. Perhaps you should print out some info about breastfed babies and how it's normal for them to slide in the growth chart due to the beginning to roll over, crawl, and cruise.

Re: Percentile drop 10 mo old

All four of mine have done that. One even fell off the charts. My doc never once said supplement to me. We just checked their weight at the next appointment, and as king as the trend was OK and the kid was doing well, we left it alone. And it was.

Re: Percentile drop 10 mo old

Most breastfed babies "lean out" in the second half of their first year. They start putting more calories into action than into fat. Formula- fed babies often show the reverse pattern of weight gain, growing relatively slowly in the first half of the first year and then escalating in the second half. Measure a breastfed baby by a formula-fed standard, and your baby will appear to gain weight "too quickly" as a newborn and "too slowly" as an older baby.

That being said, it would definitely help to make sure the baby nurses more. Breastmilk (or formula) is supposed to make up the majority of the baby's nutrition until the first birthday, with solids supplementing but not replacing feedings at the breast (or bottle). 5-6 nursing sessions sounds on the relatively low end for number of feedings at 10 months. Maybe try to cram in another couple of feeds? Breastmilk has more calories than almost all solids, and provides completely balanced nutrition.

Re: Percentile drop 10 mo old

Thank you so much ladies for your comments and feedback. I do feel strongly that my little guy is perfectly healthy and that the doctor is overreacting. However, I did start to be concerned when she said he was in such a low percentile for weight since I have two daughters both of whom were on the high side - 75 percentile and up for weight, height and head circumference throughout their first year. Having said that, my son is measuring in the 25 percentile for length and 50th percentile for head circumference. So, he is growing.
I was just looking back at his previous weight which at 8 months was 17 lbs 11 oz compared to this visit when he was one day shy of 10 months and he weighed 18 lbs 3 oz.
We have been doing our best to add additional feedings when possible. DS does generally sleep well at night (expect when teething) so usually 2 feedings from 7:30 pm to 7:30 am. So, the rest of his feedings much be fit in during the day. Like I mentioned he is getting very active and although he loves to nurse only seems to be hungry every few hours. If I try to sneak in an extra feeding or two he will comply but mostly "hang out" at the breast without actively nursing.
I am also considering a theory that he takes after my husband's side of the family who are small. My husband is 5 foot 8, his Mom and sister are both only 4 foot 10. And, looking at my husband's baby pictures he does seem to be the same physical type as a baby as well.

Proud Mommy to Alina born 01/06/2007 with due 09/05/2008 First in my family to breastfeed

Re: Percentile drop 10 mo old

Remember that EVERYONE in those charts is normal. Someone has to be in the 1st percent and someone has to be in the 100 perentile for the chart of NORMAL to exist. So he is as big as 25% of all babies his age. That's fine.